Is it just me?

V

VicariousVirus

Member
Or is the axe fx not really cutting it for heavy tones. I'm DEFINITELY getting some comparable tones...

Carvin Dc800> Axe Fx Ultra> Tascam us144mkii> Yamaha Hs80ms.

Obviously my interface is my weakest link, but I keep having a very hard time getting some of the quality all these big name guys are getting.
Obviously my tones are not on par with Misha, Tosin, Meshuggah ect. How do I get there?

I keep hearing about these "Redwirez" and the IR cabs, I don't know what they are and the AXE FX doesn't seem to have a huge forum support.
Thanks for any help.
 
hmmmm....

Is it the amp?
Is it the cab?
Is it a setting in the Global I/O tab?

Is it the pickup
that's in your guitar?
Without posting audio you won't get too far.

Are you a newbie?
Are you a professor
who knows how to use the Multiband Compressor?

Do you need to
perform Factory Reset?
Perhaps you could send us your .syx preset.

There are so many things
that it could be, alas....
Have you tried messing with a Filter High Pass?
 
jimfist said:
hmmmm....

Is it the amp?
Is it the cab?
Is it a setting in the Global I/O tab?

Is it the pickup
that's in your guitar?
Without posting audio you won't get too far.

Are you a newbie?
Are you a professor
who knows how to use the Multiband Compressor?

Do you need to
perform Factory Reset?
Perhaps you could send us your .syx preset.

There are so many things
that it could be, alas....
Have you tried messing with a Filter High Pass?
Click to expand...

You're da man!
 
What a reply!! Here is some audio I meant to post in the first place.
8 string idea by R.E.A.C.H. on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

This is the first time I've ever attached a .syx file. I believe I did it right. Anyways this is a patch I tweak daily for my 7 string guitar. I've got a couple other High gain patches I'll post that need criticism. The second patch was a periphery tone I tried to mock up. Don't get me wrong these tones sound good to my ears. They are just a bit fizzy and lacking in clarity and punch. I need something thats going to have a much cleaner, more articulate gain structure and general tone. Obviously I'm doing something wrong.

Thank you for the informative reply.



View attachment Heavy.syx
View attachment Periphery 2.syx
 
jimfist said:
hmmmm....

Is it the amp?
Is it the cab?
Is it a setting in the Global I/O tab?

Is it the pickup
that's in your guitar?
Without posting audio you won't get too far.

Are you a newbie?
Are you a professor
who knows how to use the Multiband Compressor?

Do you need to
perform Factory Reset?
Perhaps you could send us your .syx preset.

There are so many things
that it could be, alas....
Have you tried messing with a Filter High Pass?
Click to expand...

Brought a tear to my eye.
 
So has anyone checked out the .syx files I attached? It be nice to hear some constructive criticism and get a push in the right direction as far as my tones go.

Thanks to everyone who has chimed in on this thread and helped in some way.
 
VicariousVirus said:
Or is the axe fx not really cutting it for heavy tones. I'm DEFINITELY getting some comparable tones...

Carvin Dc800> Axe Fx Ultra> Tascam us144mkii> Yamaha Hs80ms.

Obviously my interface is my weakest link, but I keep having a very hard time getting some of the quality all these big name guys are getting.
Obviously my tones are not on par with Misha, Tosin, Meshuggah ect. How do I get there?

I keep hearing about these "Redwirez" and the IR cabs, I don't know what they are and the AXE FX doesn't seem to have a huge forum support.
Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...

With as long as the axe fx has been around and a LOT of people using it for heavy tones as well as a host of other sounds....I would definately say it is YOU not the machine that is in error!
 
VicariousVirus said:
So has anyone checked out the .syx files I attached? It be nice to hear some constructive criticism and get a push in the right direction as far as my tones go.

Thanks to everyone who has chimed in on this thread and helped in some way.
Click to expand...
I will give a look tomorrow.
 
I checked the heavy preset and the master is too high (8.xx), Set the master at 3.

Treble 8.xx
Bright cap ON
Presence 7.4
It makes a lot of high end. Try to desengage the bright cap and work only with treble and presence controls.
 
webe123 said:
With as long as the axe fx has been around and a LOT of people using it for heavy tones as well as a host of other sounds....I would definately say it is YOU not the machine that is in error!
Click to expand...

Exactly why I'm posting on a Fractal Audio forum looking for advice. I obviously cannot satisfy myself with my heavy tones, so I'm looking for some tips.
 
mba said:
I checked the heavy preset and the master is too high (8.xx), Set the master at 3.

Treble 8.xx
Bright cap ON
Presence 7.4
It makes a lot of high end. Try to desengage the bright cap and work only with treble and presence controls.
Click to expand...


The guy from "Boy in a band.com" made a good point about the master control and how it thickens up the sound when cranked. Similar to a tube amp.

Anyways, I'll try messing with the treble and presence controls after I disengage the bright cap. But is lowering the volume and potential treble really going to bring clarity to all the notes being played through the axe fx? I don't know if its my gate settings. Or my compression settings, but I'm just not getting the clarity and power I want out of the axe fx.


Here's a tone I'd like to try and gain.

AXE FX ultra new preset test (raw mix) - YouTube
 
You need to understand that all of the tones you listed have many layers of guitars recorded on different guitars with different amp blocks and a Ton of post processing. Misha did the first periphery album with stock everything on the ultra. 412 German cab and a bunch of amps.

I get great punchy high gain stuff out of the axe and I'll share my method.

First, use Scott's nf ff cab setup. One OH or RW cab with no mic and one of the JM far field 212 cabs with no mic. Pan both center and I keep them at equal levels.

Pedal comp with attack/release at 0 and sustain around 2.5 ----> TS 808 with drive at zero tone at 5 and the volume to max ----> FAS Modern( I've found this to be the clearest sounding amp for just playing on its own) with the gain around 2.8-3.5 depending on taste, mids pushed a bit, treble/presence to taste, bright on, master around 6, and dampening around 6 ( to taste).

I'll run a parallel delay/reverb to fatten up a bit and I get soul crushing tones with pristine clarity. I found that the high gain stuff is really easy to tweak to death because of ear fatigue. Keep it simple and don't try to get a wall of sound you hear on a recording. Those are many many tracks and you just get mud if you shoot for it. Keep in mind that the Bass is a major part of that sound and the guitar doesn't have to kick your balls up into your throat on its own. Keep the gain down for clarity and punch, use the master for thickness, and mess with the compressor to get the feel you want.

Hope that helps a bit!
 
That helps a ton! I'm just a little confused about you explaining your preset.

I'm following everything except for this.
"First, use Scott's nf ff cab setup. One OH or RW cab with no mic and one of the JM far field 212 cabs with no mic. Pan both center and I keep them at equal levels. "

Obviously you've got the axe fx II so I'd imagine you cannot share an .syx file with me.
Thank you so much for your input.
Unfortunately I'm still pretty novice with my axe fx. I know how to play and I'm learning about recording and mixing.
I'm just trying to focus on the axe fx and superior drummer as they are the foundation of my music for now.
 
VicariousVirus said:
That helps a ton! I'm just a little confused about you explaining your preset.

I'm following everything except for this.
"First, use Scott's nf ff cab setup. One OH or RW cab with no mic and one of the JM far field 212 cabs with no mic. Pan both center and I keep them at equal levels. "

Obviously you've got the axe fx II so I'd imagine you cannot share an .syx file with me.
Thank you so much for your input.
Unfortunately I'm still pretty novice with my axe fx. I know how to play and I'm learning about recording and mixing.
I'm just trying to focus on the axe fx and superior drummer as they are the foundation of my music for now.
Click to expand...

No problem. Sorry I'm doing this from my phone so typing gets a bit tedious lol. If you look in the cabs there are ones that say OH, RW, and JM. They stand for owhhammer redwire, and jay mitchel... Just the people that made the IR's. So use one of the JM ones for your amp in the room sound and one of the others for the close to the cab sound. Don't select any mic option in the can block as they just add unneeded eq unless you're familiar with mics. This setup gives a much more familiar guitar sound instead of a close up mic sound that many aren't used to hearing.

I had a difficult time with the high gain when I got my axe too. It just takes learning what the parameters do, and some patience. Remember less is more, and you dont have to touch much for a good tone. Just treat it like a normal Amp and stay on the basic tab for a while!! Feel free to pm me with any more questions. I'm no expert but happy to share what I do know!
 
Here is a link to some pictures of my basic high gain setup. I just made this off the top of my head as I only have my laptop at the moment but not my AxeFx so don't try to use these exact settings haha. But ballpark these should get you fairly close, pay attention to the things I've highlighted as they make the big difference and just adjust them to your guitar. Also make sure your input gain is set correctly for your guitar. The red light should tickle fairly often.

Edit: Note the drive pedal says Rat but I use the TS808. I forgot to change it when I took the screen shots.
Photo Album - Imgur
 
I just tried the preset. It actually works really well, It's a little cleaner than my presets for sure.

I actually do NOT have the cabs you referred to!! Where can I find these?
 
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